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Comments
Richard
Richard
european hinges
soft close drawers
full extension drawers
soft close doors
Richard
Richard
Richard
You've had four dishwashers in that house since 1998?! That's one every three years! At least my sorry Kenmore lasted five years. Actually, it still works. It just stopped cleaning dishes. :confuse: :sick:
Richard
I'm sorry. But I recall thinking about that at the time. It's only a couple of layers of stuff at the bottom and the parts literally snap out. But I recall thinking if I had one many years old, that I might not be as eager to dig into it and would instead select a new one. I really like the engineering for repairability of the Whirlpool products.
Friends had bought Whirlpool Cabrio washer when they were first out. We bought a few years later. His had a noise during spin cycle and I used forums and diagrams to diagnose as a bearing supporting the whole moving basket, Theirs is about 7 years old with several loads done each and every day. It wore and a few have a bearing get noisy. I told him to price a new one at Lowes with all their sales. I gave him the number for their Lowes while we were on the phone. He called. The list price for washer was $999; Lowes typically sells below that, I believe. But it was on sale for 2 more days at $599. Do you pay $275 for the whole outer tub with the bearing built in plus two service calls for someone to replace the whole plastic outer drum, or do you pay $599 for a newer model with more features, etc...? Of course, he bought the new one the next day and kept the old one to put in the basement as a second washer after he gets around to snapping it apart and repairing it for the kids to use in the basement.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Thanks for the thought, though it's a done deal. They deliver on Monday. We got a good price on it at Lowe's...$100 off regular price.
Richard
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
Yes, the dishwasher was made by Whirlpool and it had the highest consumer rating of all their dishwashers but I must have gotten a lemon, or did I.
‘imid’, being a DIYer, you’ll appreciate this.
Before I called back to talk to the Sears regional appliance sales manager, I was preparing myself for doing the repair myself. I called a local independent appliance and service center to see if they had the control unit. While I’m talking to this very experienced repair guy he says, “I don’t think it’s the control unit. I think it’s the touch panel but I’m not positive. It could be either one. The down side is once you buy it (either one) it’s yours. I don’t have that problem since if one doesn’t fix the problem I replace the other unit. I’ve seen this happen before and I’ve used a, warm not hot, hair dryer to go over the face of the touch panel for a couple minutes to get rid of the moisture that could be causing the problem. It’s worth a try.” I said, “that really works? :surprise: It’s a sealed touch panel, where does the moisture go’? He said, “out the back where it got in to begin with”.
I left early from work that day and when I got home, after I called the Sears manager and got the good news about them replacing the bad dishwasher, I tried the hair dryer thingy. It worked. :confuse: When Mrs. jmonroe got home I showed her that the dishwasher was now working, just like new. Just to have some fun I told her to use the hair dryer if it ever acted up again. I get this look like HUH then she said, “and you buy that flimsy fix”? :mad:
Man, do they get touchy when a dishwasher goes on the blink. Now I know not to play games when that happens.
Like I’ve said before, “there are two dishwashers in our house, one is quiet and the other makes noise”.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I am interested in replacing the gigantic soaking tub with an acre of decking with a stand alone taller (soaking) tub. Not an old fashioned claw foot, but a more modern version of that. Any suggestions, and rough pricing?
also, what do you recommend for a shower pan/enclosure that is the best combination of cost and function (I expect to tile, so it may just be the base, but is there anything interesting with wall systems these days?)
I am sure to have more questions later!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
But, just like when I shop for cars, it will come down to lust vs. $.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Are you in the business?
There are some nice free standing soakers out there in more modern styles. I don't want to get punished for solicitating but the brand my company reps will run between $6,000 and $14,500.
also, what do you recommend for a shower pan/enclosure that is the best combination of cost and function
Get a basic acrylic pan or build your own using Schluter products. Personally, I'd go with an linear drain system and skip the pan.
14K for a tub? My heart just skipped a beat. Might be Richard's zip code, but not mine! If you can't get one at a reasonable price (it is just a tall bath tub!) the old beast will just stay, with new tile on the deck.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Years ago I did my share of woodworking and to completely remove stain to change the color is almost impossible to get it done like fresh wood. Especially, with raised panel doors in a kitchen and having so many of them. It’ll be a tough job to get it to match the way you want it to look.
I’d consider replacing the doors and just concentrating on the flat rails and stiles on the cabinet box. At least then you have a chance with a belt sander but you will have dust EVERYWHERE, believe me, even with a good belt sander with a dust collection bag and a vacuum attachment.
Painting is probably the least expensive way to go but I’m not a fan of painted kitchen cabinets because they require too much care to prevent chipping. I have had a little success with painting cabinets but you have to put at least two coats of a clear water varnish (water varnish so the color doesn’t yellow) and lightly sand between coats after painting. Three coats are best but you’ll be living, full time, in that kitchen to get it done right with paint if you’re the one that will be doing it. Don’t let anyone tell you that the paint they use won’t chip because they haven’t made that paint yet.
they are just very dated looking (a washed/pickled oak finish that was popular in the early 90s), with an almost pink tinge.
That’s the finish we have and when we moved back to the Burgh in ’97 Mrs. j wanted that color since she liked it so much from when we built a house in SC in ’92 that had that finish. When we did the counter tops and appliances in January 2010, I thought she’d be tired of looking at that finish for all those years but for some reason she kept saying to everybody, “I’m not getting rid of a color that I still like” (way to go girl, saved me gobs of bucks with that decision ). The Black granite top and stainless appliances are a perfect contrast for that light pickled oak finish.
Come over at any time and I’ll show you.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Correct. You can install it anywhere in the shower are but most put it across the opening. Great for modern styling and for barrier free systems.
14K for a tub?
It's a really, really nice tub.
I am still waiting to hear back from the painter with a price quote, and I have a kitchen designer coming tomorrow to do a sketch and estimate. And if he ever shows up, a contractor to do an install estimate.
I will compare that vs. the restain option, and if redo is too much and the stain is more than I want to risk, we will do the bathroom instead!
much, mush easier to buy a car than do all this work. It is like you have to beg people to come out and take 10's of thousands of your $!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I hear ya. This house came with the same thing.
A tub so large that the water heater runs out before the tub is full.
I'd like to replace it with a smaller jacuzzi and a bidet,
but I'm afraid they'll mess up the perfect tile job already in place.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
in 13 years, we have used to giant tub we have maybe 5 times. mostly we dust it every so often. I would not even have it, but was told to keep one for resale.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Please note that Jacuzzi TM is a trademark name. Apollo Management LP likes to remind us of that. The proper term is whirlpool tub.
a bidet
Bidets are pretty rare but people who have them, love them. An option is a Washlet from Toto - it's a replacement seat with air and water built in.
The guy who wouldn't drive 60 minutes to the Mercedes dealer :sick:
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
OK, I'll take a whirlpool tub and a washlet.
Just get this waste of space garden tub out of here.
Or maybe one of those side opener sit down old folks bath units.
2013 Mustang GT, 2001 GMC Yukon Denali
So he's not only Canadian but a Republican to boot!
OK, Ok, you say potayto I say potahtoe.
Anyway, I was writing in a seedy internet place..one euro per hour....with hardly any light and a space bar that only works if you slam it twice. Potatoe should have been potato but when it is more than one it becomes potatoes.
But what has this got to do with Republicans or Dan Quail.
In Dublin we saw nice americans yesterday who said no matter what Obama does the nay sayers say he is wrong. Today we saw Americans who said Obama was visiting Ireland soon and he is always traveling and not doing enough at home.
I am staying neutral, it's just a vacation.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Now you know why, if at all possible, I do things myself.
I can screw it up at least as good as they can and it doesn't cost me nearly as much.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
got my stain quote back. not bad. $925 complete. It is a pretty big kitchen (10 uppers, 12 lowers, a desk, bathroom vanity, and a few assorted side panels).
need to verify if that assume I am taking the doors and hardware off or they will do it!
I do want to replace the hardware and hinges anyway if I keep this set of cabinets, so that labor has to happen anyway.
will decide which way to go once I meet with the kitchen designer and contractor, but staining is gonna save a whole boatload of money, that likely gets redirected right into the master bath.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
Richard
He is a third generation plumbing business owner. I have to figure that he is a walking text book on bath and kitchen fixtures.
Richard
Not this Richard. I enjoy nice things, but a $14K bath tub would be at the bottom of my list, and probably not even on my list.
Richard
Richard
Three months after that, the house began sinking. It reached the point that the owners couldn't open the patio doors. It grew worse until the bottom step to the front door disappeared beneath the earth. The walls began to get bad cracks and the kitchen and bathrooms suffered severe cracks in all of the floor tiles. One morning there was a loud moaning noise. The oversized two car garage sank over a foot. Finally, a geologist was called in to survey the problem. An underground stream leading to the creek beside our house had decided to reactivate itself. The stream ran under the house. Who knew? The cost of repair: $30K to jack up the house and do repairs; $20K to block off the stream and redirect it; $50K to repair walls ,put in new tile flooring, repair wiring and plumbing, etc. There's nothing like having to get a $100K second mortgage.
The worst tragedy came six months later. The poor owner lost his job due to down sizing. He and his wife just walked away from the house. Three years later, the house is still on the market. Everyone has heard the stories and no one will touch it. Of our 14 houses, it was our favorite---absolutely beautiful home in every way. We felt so sorry for the young couple and their three teenage children. They returned to Michigan to live with his parents. If we hadn't decided to retire and move away, we would have been faced with this terrible problem. Life works in very strange ways.
Richard
You are correct. I wouldn't drive 60 minutes to have the oil changed in a Mercedes. I WOULD drive 90 minutes to have the oil changed in a Rolls Royce. As I see it, there is just no comparison.
My father used to smoke nothing but Camel cigarettes. He agreed with the slogan "Walk a mile for a Camel".
Richard
That would be "Quayle" followed by a question mark. Republican Dan Quayle, on a visit to an elementary school, corrected a child by telling him to add an "e"---as you did. Unfortunately, the media was there to tape this. Though I always found Dan Quayle to be a decent guy, he was forever making a faux pas of some sort in public.
Richard
I can screw it up worse than they can. Now I need a new wireless router. I'll buy it but I sure as hell won't plug it in myself. :P
Richard
plug in wires and power plug in the order instructed, and at the end, put in a CD, click "ok", and you are done.
oh, you do have to enter a network name and access password, but a smart guy like you ca probably handle that!
I got a netgear (model 6400) and it has been great so far.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
and the current color is pretty grungy, and we really need a new floor, and i won't put that in if I don't plan to keep the cabinets as long as the house.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Brand power is amazing. Kohler products are gorgeous, but they are expensive garbage. Back in the day Kohler used to make very high quality, long lasting products. Nowadays they spend most of their money on marketing & pretty.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
That sounds like the animations of what can happen due to structure problems on Holmes on Homes, an HGTV show on Sunday nights. It's my Saturday Night Live substitute. I love that show. Mike Holmes is always amazed at what's behind the surface when he tears into repairing something simple: it becomes difficult.
I like the show even more since I tore into my most recent home
demolition, errr, I mean remodeling. Our family room has a fireplace with brick over that whole width of the room up to a mantle which stretchs the whole width. Above that was paneling to the ceiling. I always liked the paneling but decided, after a decade or so of my wife's urging, to remove paneling and paint the wallboard to match the rest of the room.I tore into the paneling and there was indeed drywall behind. I got to the middle of the wall and there was naked brick from the fireplace's flue with no drywall. The drywall had been torn away, probably to chase a leak. Of course the leak would have been from the crown on top or at the roof contact with the brick of the chimney--not in the family room level. But they hadn't put the drywall back. A day long project had just turned into a week.
So I asked my long time friend from KY who had been in the remodeling business to come help me patch in the large drywall piece. He also brought and left his power sander with vacuum for me to smooth the drywall compound. He applied an initial special compound and then I did two more leveling coats of standard compound. He also left me a power planer and sander to resurface the large wood mantle timber.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Take your kitchen layout to a good designer and see what extra features and special cabinet types he/she can add into your current layout. Our designer gained us lots of extra cabinet space to enlarge storage compared to the original design of the home.
Then after seeing what extra features are available, you might want to make the big step now. My wife loves the rollout shelves in certain cabinets, the extra vertical slot for storing cookie trays and other narrow equipment, and the glass doors on some of the overhead cabinets.
We too looked at painting the original, quality upgraded cabinets that were in the house when built. But decided to go full redo. I tore everything out, replumbed the sink to move it over a couple of feet and upgraded and moved my electrical for the stove, microwave, refrigerator adding undercabinet and above cabinet lighting controlled by a wall switch.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport 2020 C43 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I don't think plugging in is your problem... it's unplugging that gets you into trouble.
Well, I don't always make faux pas in public....just sometimes.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Remind me, no matter how beautiful it might be, never to buy a used house or a car from you. The houses seem to self destruct, and the cars either fall apart or have mud and dog c---- all over them. :P
By the way, how is the new little dog doing...did he get house trained and has he settled down?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Probably the rental that stands out most was a Kia Soul which I rented about 5-6 months ago. I see new ones advertised in the newspaper routinely for $12K (discounted). So, they're about the least expensive cars I've seen currently. The quality of the materials, while not Honda or Cadillac grade, was certainly more than I had any expectation it would be. Plus, being a rental with over 10K miles on the odo, it was still rattle free. It handled relatively well, drove smooth, and was rather "zippy". In all, if I needed a cheap runabout, I would actually consider buying one.
On the opposite end of that spectrum, I just finished turning in as a rental.....a Chevy Impala. This example was almost new (less than 4K miles). As soon as I shut the front door (which sounded like "tin can slammed against tin can", literally, I knew this was not going to be a good experience.
Message to the General, if you're truly trying to build better cars, start right here....your Impala. Tell the accountants to take a month off while you re-engineer it and buy parts to use with it. You'll be doing yourself a huge favor.
While I'm certain that it's a base model, as rental companies tend to buy those to rent, it was clear that maybe if Chevy would have invested, or I dunno, maybe another $20 upgrading materials, the experience would have been much better. Dials and buttons wallowed in their slots. There was absolutely no sense they were engineered, manufactured or installed correctly (probably because they weren't).
Understand that my previous Tahoe had a very similar center stack, and that it cost probably 2.5x-3x more than the Impala, so I was relatively familiar with the controls, but these seemed inordinately complex and confusing (this coming from an Acura owner, to boot). Would it have cost that much more money to make the power windows one touch down/up? Especially for Chevy's flagship sedan?
Did they actually test drive this vehicle before telling their dealers this was a good car? It took minute steering corrections to a whole new level.....steering was disconcerting, to the point where it was a chore to keep the car in its lane. It wasn't the tires (although those could have been improved too). It was the way they engineered the suspension.
In fairness, the car was quiet inside (when it wasn't rattling). And, the engine was smooth. It had a lot of room. That's where it starts and ends, though. I could say the same thing about the $12K Kia, which I'd prefer over the Impala.....by a large margin.
End of rant short of that will be the very last Impala I will ever rent. Even with huge discounts, I can't see anyone actually liking this car enough to buy it. Guess I'm wrong, and obviously in the minority. There are a lot of them on the road. Maybe they're all rentals.
I suppose that you have noticed that I never mention the dog. The new (a year old) little (now at 60 pounds) has been a great disappointment. I say this coming from two people who love dogs very much. Coco finally got house trained---took forever. That is the extent of his successful training. We spent eight weeks in puppy school---total disaster; he learned nothing and resisted all training. His jumping, biting, and licking is terrible. He spent two weeks with a special trainer who had experience with difficult dogs. She said that he was the most stubborn and strong willed dog that she had ever seen. No good results there. You can't even pet him or enjoy him. We have given up. He is on the adoption list with the agency where we bought him. i feed him each morning and he goes out to our large back yard for the day. He has destroyed the back yard---deep holes dug all over the yard, flowers ruined, shrubs torn apart, etc. He ate the cable wires attached to the house and dug up the irrigation wires. I had the irrigation wires encased in PVC pipes, and moved the cable wires to a new location. We bring him in at dinner time. He eats, plays with only one toy that he likes, and goes to bed for the night. That's the routine. If we go out of town, the boarding place can't wait for us to pick him up when we return. Our vet believes that there is a real psychological problem with Coco. It's been a tough and sad experience. Perhaps it is us at our age, but we've always had success with dogs. After this, I doubt that we will ever get another one. When and if he gets adopted, we will have a major bill to get the back yard back in place. We can't take him out in public. It takes too much strength to control him on the leash. We would never have him put down. We'll just have to find the right person who will adopt him.
Richard
Richard
In all fairness the Impala is one of the last cars of the "old GM" It is based on an old platform (W body circa 1988) and uses pushrod V6s. It is largely a rental/fleet unit. It isn't a particularly bad car, but the smaller Malibu surpasses it in many ways. It will be phased out soon, from what I have read.
2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Ram 1500 Bighorn, Built to Serve
It was actually a very nice car. It had all the bells and whistles except leather, and it was a bit anemic, so I assume it had a 4 cylinder engine.
It had Sirius radio activated, which I have in my own car, so that was a nice bonus. I didn't play around with the Ford Sync system very much, but getting my phone to couple with the bluetooth was quick and easy. I didn't upload my phone book for obvious reasons, so I never made a call, but did receive a few. Worked really well.
The ride was a little soft for my taste, but the steering felt just right, not too loose, and not too twitchy.
The dual climate control worked well, although I didn't see a switch that would allow the driver to control both sides at once. It may have been there though.
The interior was nice. Fit and finish was good, and the plastic on the dash and door panels, etc., were soft and seemed to be decent quality.
If I was in the market for a sedan, I would seriously consider one of these. I saw one that said "sport" on the back, so I assume they make one with firmer suspension and a 6 cylinder.